Blazing Beasts and Painful Memories
by catilena1890
Summary: When an old foe unlocks the secret that brought Megaman to exist, he uses it to reopen old and painful wounds in Chauds family, and inflict them on the rest of the world. Ch. 6 "Interrogation"
1. A thief in the Night

RAWR! HEELLLOOOOO Megaman archive explorers! You ready for the next installment of Project: Sharo? Neither am I! lol, but in all seriousness, I want to heartily apologize for both the horrible lack-of-plot in A Lycanthrope Christmas and for the terrible attitude I took while writing that story. I am so sorry I yelled at you guys for not voting on the poll, yeah, it slightly annoyed me, but it did not warrant me yelling at you. Perhaps having an actual plot struggle will make up for it? Let's see, when we last saw everyone, (btw, let's pretend A Lycanthrope Christmas never happened, I'll have a better Christmas fic for you guys next year.) Chaula and Raika just got together as a couple. In this next episode, some old friends of Lan pay Dentech a visit, which forces Raika to leave his werewolf lover to assist them. After a brief conversation with Nylorac-chan aka Midnight-Lite C.T., I have decided to go ahead and make my lemon story sometime after this. I was originally going to put it in the story, but I decided against it since this story is essential to my plot and the lemon isn't. Anyway, to recap, Chaula and Raika confessed their love to each other after Raika saves Chaula from an evil werewolf who attempted to rape her. In this story, it's time for a little action when old friends decide to pay Lan and his friends a visit. Let's begin. ^_^

* * *

All was quiet in the city of Dentech as humans and net navis alike slept in the dark of the night. They were unaware as something unheard of and evil took place. A shadowy figure snuck in undetected into the servers of BlazeQuest industries and broke through a massive firewall to get at just one case of data. The shadowy figure chuckled malevolently as it took the case and logged out.

The snow blew wildly as the plane was almost ready for takeoff. Two people could be seen standing near where the entrance to the plane would open up. Holding each other tightly, they failed to notice the griffin coming at them until it landed and approached them.

"Raika, it's time." Bass told him as Raika reluctantly let go of Chaula. He smiled at her sadly as he gathered his pack to take with him to Dentech.

"I'll be home as soon as I can Chaula. I'm really sorry about this, but you know I _have _to go even though I don't want to leave you. Promise me you'll be safe?" He asked her with a hint of pleading in his voice. Chaula smiled at him and nodded.

"Of course, my overprotective griffin here won't let me go two steps without being by myself, will you?" She teased. Bass rolled his eyes as Raika boarded the plane, taking one last look at his werewolf lover before the boarding hatch closed. He breathed deeply as he closed his eyes and thought about the past few weeks. Chaula went out with an evil werewolf, Raika had a huge fight with her, and later saved her from a horrible fate that would have implanted itself in her thoughts forever. They later confessed their love to each other and were living in bliss ever since. They slept together a lot more often and they went everywhere together, _everywhere_. And now he had to leave her, alone.

"Well, maybe not completely alone sir. She has Bass, and Protias with her, they will protect her, and so will everyone else." Searchman said, startling Raika as he realized he was thinking out loud. He nodded at his net navi and sighed, laying his head back.

"True, and it's not like I'll be gone for as long as I normally am. I don't even know why they need _me_ to help investigate who would have broken into BlazeQuest. I don't even know what they took and why. Well, we'll find out soon, and then I'll hurry back to her." Raika said closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. Little did he know, Lan and his friends were in real danger, a danger, that may just cost them their lives, and his too.

TBC

-yawns- Gah, I am tired. As I am writing this I am in my first hour class at school, which means I have been up for a little over 2 and a half hours with only 5 and a half hours of sleep, so hopefully you`ll forgive me for making this so short, cuz I know it`s been awhile since I finished that horrible piece of literature I tried to pass off as a Christmas story and I wanted to show you guys I`m still trying. To be honest, my dreams and my boredom-induced fantasies never made it past "The Dangers of Werewolves" so I have been bullying my brain to come up with something new, which took forever, but it worked, and I have an exciting new plot for you, I think you`ll like… (has no idea what to name this story yet) uh… Oh! I got it, "Blazing Beasts and Painful Memories", yeah, I like that, I really do (literally just now came up with the title). Since I am currently braindead, if you couldn`t tell, I have no idea what else I need to say here, so, review and see you next chapter, when I`m hopefully more awake.

Kitty


	2. Awakening of the Beast

Kitty: Boo. Ok, so, let`s head on over to the next chapter...

Chaula: What's the matter Cat? You aren't your usual crazy ass self.

Kitty: No, no, I need to get on with the story.

Chaula: Tell me or I`ll hurt you even worse!

Kitty: Yikes! You ARE a werewolf, well, uh, my boyfriend got in a car crash, breaking several ribs and his arm. It happened about a week ago I only found out a couple days after because he and I are maintaining a long distance relationship and up until the weekend, I was grounded from the computer and he was asleep.

Chaula: That`s so horrible! Is he gonna be alright?

Kitty: He told me the doctors say he should be fine after more bedrest and painkillers, but I still worry.

Chaula: I bet…

Kitty: I haven`t seen him for days, and I was too worried to get anything done, but I figured I should go ahead and bring in the next chapter.

Chaula: Want me to do the recap and stuff for you?

Kitty: (sighs and covers face with hands) Go ahead, I just got depressed again…

Chaula: Poor Kitty. Ok everyone, until she is feeling better, I`ll take care of ya! So, to recap… Uh, Bass, where were we?

Bass: You idiot wolf, someone broke into your cousin`s business mainframe and stole some data and the NetSaviors of Dentech requested Raika to come help with the investigation.

Chaula: Oh yeah! Thanks, well, I can do the rest on my own.

Bass: You sure?

Chaula: Who broke into BlazeQuest Industries? What did they take? Why does Raika need to go help figure it out? And what the hell are you doing?

Bass: Getting the border so people don`t confuse our conversation as part of the story, now shut up and let them read chapter 2!

When they were about 15 minutes to their destination, Searchman carefully woke Raika up so he could be prepared to leave quickly. Stretching in his seat, Raika stiffly looked out the window and saw the calm, quiet buildings of Dentech city.

"Any e-mails or phone calls while I was asleep?" He asked Searchman, yawning.

"No sir." Searchman bluntly responded. Raika grunted as the plane landed and stopped at a terminal. Standing up from his seat, Raika did as the flight attendants instructed and left the plane accordingly. Upon exiting from the terminal, he found Lan and Maylu, with their respective net-navis, waiting for him. Raika tilted his head as he approached them.

"No one finds it strange that a dark blue fox and a pink-bellied kangaroo are running around without any kind of lead or anything?" He asked them. Lan and Maylu smiled and shook their heads.

"A present from Chaud. License Collars. These collars that Megaman and Roll are wearing have a computer identification chip in them that basically tells everyone they are ok. Chaud got a few for you and his cousin too, here." Lan said, handing Raika a large case. Upon opening it, he found a lime-green collar, a black and white collar, and a tawny-brown collar inside. He smiled at them and closed the case, nodding to Lan and Maylu.

"Thank you, so, where IS Chaud?" He asked.

"At the crime scene, let`s hurry." Lan answered, running to the exit of the airport. Raika and Maylu rolled their eyes as they followed him, Roll hopping alongside Maylu. They left the airport and, loading his suitcase and the case with the collars into the back of the limo Chaud had loaned to Lan to greet Raika in and then going to the motorcycle he always rented. When they got to the building, Raika said nothing as he was led into the high-security vault where the computer that stored the stolen data was kept. In the room, Chaud and Dr. Hikari turned from the hacked computer to look at them.

"Welcome. Raika, sorry to call you here for this, but it is really important, and we need all the help we can get." Dr. Hikari told him. Raika cocked a brow at them and tilted his head, the latter of the two being a habit he picked up from Chaula when either of them grew confused about something.

"What do you mean? What is so important that you need to bring me all the way from Sharo to find?" He asked with more bitterness than he intended. Chaud lifted a brow at Raika's attitude, but ignored it and looked back toward the computer.

"Someone stole a very important project of my dad's. He wouldn't tell me exactly what it was he was working on, but he grew very grave when he found this vault broken into. At the same time we discovered this, there have been multiple accounts of power fluctuations throughout the net." Chaud explained.

"What does that mean?" Raika asked him.

"It means someone is creating a very powerful cyber creature, possibly a cybeast. Scilabs was also broken into a few weeks ago and the thief took the program I used to make Megaman. These power fluctuations were present when Falzar and Gregar came from Beyondard, and I have no doubt someone is creating another cyberbeast, if not a very powerful navi. We need you to be here to fight whatever this thing is if we can't track it down and destroy it first." Dr. Hikari answered for Chaud. Raika said nothing as he walked up to the computer to look for any clues they might have missed.

_I have a very bad feeling about this. Something is not right here. _Chaud thought as he showed Raika the evidence they gathered.

_Meanwhile_

"Just a little more, yes, yes, that's it, yes, yes, YES! Excellent! Come my new pet, it is time to awaken and do your masters bidding. Hahaha, ahahahaha, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" In a dark, damp laboratory, a scientist laughed wildly as he stared at a large, blue fluid-filled tank. Inside, something writhed within and a large head turned to the man, a large, slitted blue eye opened and stared at him, saying nothing…

TBC

Chaula: Ugh, that's scary. What is that thing Bass?

Bass: How should I know? I`m not in this chapter.

Chaula: True, we may not get any screen time for a couple more chapters.

Bass: What?!

Chaula: Oh hush. Anyway, Kitty is still kinda upset, so I'll close this up for her. See you guys later! Hopefully she can calm herself enough to get the next chapter up quickly.

Bass: Bye.


	3. The Attack

Chaula: Hey everyone, it's me again. I've got some great news! Or rather, Kitty does, Catilena?

Kitty: My boyfriend is gonna be ok! Stupid doctor nearly killed him with the anesthesia and they didn't realize it until he was almost at the point of no return. He's getting better now though, and he said he should be coming out of the hospital real soon. I must go wait for him! –rushes off to chatango-

Chaula: OO; So let's make this quick. What is that thing in the tank? Are Lan and friends in danger? What is Chaud's father hiding? And where is that border?

Bass: I thought you hated the border?

Chaula: No, I hate you doing unexpected things, now bring me a real border, not an imaginary one like in last chapter.

Bass: Fine, fine. Enjoy everyone.

* * *

After failing to find any other evidence, everyone decided to call off the search for the time being and relax. Chaud took Lan, Raika, and Maylu to the curry shop to discuss the problem at hand until they could find any leads. As they sat at the bar, Chaud was very sullen, gently stroking Protoman's fur and not eating his food. He stared at the counter while Lan stuffed his face. Raika cleared his throat and started speaking.

"So what exactly was it the thief took from you Chaud?" Je ask. Chaud shook his head before answering.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know we had that safe until I heard my dad yell about it. He wouldn't tell me what it was, that I wouldn't understand, but he told me that is was really important to him." Chaud answered. Raika groaned and took a deep breath.

"Could we maybe speak to him and try to get it out of him?" He inquired. Chaud shook his head again.

"He went to Ameurope to visit family to take away some of his stress. He's expecting me to get this crime solved when he gets back, and I have no idea what I'm going to do because I don't know where to look!" He yelled, clutching Protoman's fur. The cheetah frowned and purred sympathetically, looking at everyone.

"Chaud's father said that if he can't handle his responsibilities without being distracted by me, he would take Chaud's PET away from him and send me away. He thinks I am useless and troublesome, especially now that I am officially another mouth to feed." Protoman said. Everyone looked at Chaud, who was clearly distraught, and knew it was true. Lan and Maylu looked at each other and clutched their navis, while Raika laid a hand on the falcon on his shoulder. Lan walked up to Chaud and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Chaud, we'll find the guy who did this and get back that data." Lan said cheerfully. Before anyone could respond, Chaud's PET rang. He picked it up and answered it, with Famous' face appearing on the screen.

"Chaud, our worst fears have been confirmed; there is a report of a massive, cyber-beast downtown. I want you, Lan, and Raika to get there immediately and stop." He told them quickly. Chaud and the others nodded as Famous hung up and everyone rushed out of the curry shop, leaving Dex and the former WWW members confused at the conversation.

Upon reaching the downtown area, the destruction was obvious. Rubble and wires were everywhere.

"Definitely the work of a cyberbeast, but which one?" Raika asked as a dimensional area came down and covered them. Before anyone could try to respond, the answer came out at them, just as everyone crossfused. It was a pure-white snake, the size of a giant tree. It's eyes were a deep, sapphire blue, not unlike Chaud's and Raika's. When it opened its mouth to hiss at them, the inside of a black mouth showed rows of sharp, vicious teeth that could no doubt deliver a very powerful, venom-filled bite. Its speed was unmatched as it struck out at our heroes over and over, unyielding.

"Damn! How do we stop this thing?" Lan shouted as he continued to dodge the massive serpent's attack. Raika shot at it several times with his blaster, but the creature didn't even seem disturbed by the blasts. No matter how much Chaud slashed at it, the snake just kept coming. It was everything our heroes could do to stay away from the massive teeth. Bored with it's prey, the snake let out a piercing roar that was very lycan-like and slammed its tail into Lan, Chaud, and Raika, knocking them off their feet and into each other. It smiled sinisterly at them as it reared up and glared at them menacingly.

"You think to defeat _me_? Silly humans, I'll let you live this time, only because I am amused by your futile actions. My master shall make contact with you soon with his demands. If I were you, I would meet them as given." It said in a woman's voice. With one smack of her tail, the dimensional area collapsed and she crawled down a nearby manhole, disappearing into the sewers, leaving Lan, Chaud, and Raika severely confused.

TBC

* * *

Bass: There, now _THAT _is a border.

Chaula: Whatever. So, what just happened?

Bass: I have no idea.

Kitty: I just sent a giant snake after your cousin and his friends. XD

Chaula: What?!

Kitty: Review!

Chaula: Stupid cat! GET BACK HERE!


	4. A call and a Plan

Hey everyone. It`s Kitty! I made Bass and Chaula go home since I am feeling good enough to do this stuff on my own now. So anyway, I`ll just cut to the chase, since I am very tired. Lan and his friends were just attacked by a giant snake. They fought hard but none of their attacks had any effect. The snake knocked all three of them back and told them her master was going to be making demands. Who is she? Who is her master? Will our heroes be able to stop them? Let's find out!

* * *

After the attack, Lan, Chaud, and Raika stumbled into a standing position and limped back to SciLabs. The serpent's warning alarmed everyone and they began discussing what they could do about this problem in the conference room.

"Maybe we could use the beast-out chips to take it out?"

"Lan, don't be stupid. I'm pretty sure even Gregar's claws won't pierce her armor. We should get her into a place where we could use gravity to finish her off." Chaud and Lan had been arguing like this for awhile now, and everyone else was at a loss, all except Raika, who had been thinking hard about their current problem. It was during these activities that an all-too-familiar face showed up on the main screen to greet them.

"The Professor!"

"Hello there. It seems my darling pet has gotten loose. I hope she didn't break anything of value." He mocked. Chaud gritted his teeth and glared at him, his eyes starting to slit. Protoman reached out a paw to him and grabbed his shoulder, willing him to calm down while their enemy looked at them with delight.

"So that snake is yours? What do you want?" Dr. Hikari asked calmly. The Professor smirked and touched his chin as if contemplating his demands.

"Let's see, I want you to create more cyberbeasts for me, I want you to get more personality data for me, and I want you to find more of that animal program my friend found in that vault in Sharo." He stated, pointing to Dr. Hikari, Chaud, and Raika, respectively.

"I'll give you a week to think it over, and if you refuse, you'll have to contemplate what went wrong in Vipress's stomach. See you in a week!" He said, laughing wildly as his serpent's silhouette writhed in the background. Suddenly, the transmission was cut off and everyone was silent. Raika shut his eyes tightly and shook his head slowly. He buried his face in his hands while Searchman prepared to send an email to Chaula to inform her about the robberies. Raika looked up at everyone and stood up, much to their surprise, and he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well, our worst fears were confirmed and to things even more horrible, our enemy is a lunatic with a creature fetish. However, if Vipress is what I think she is, then we may have a shot at her." Raika said. Lan tilted his head at Raika and Megamanstood up on his shoulders.

"What do you mean? That snake pulverized us, withstanding even the program advance!" He pointed out. Raika glared at him for pointing out their utter failure at their attempt to stop Vipress, but quickly got over it and was about to explain when another face appeared on the large screen in the conference room.

"OUR PROGRAM WAS STOLEN BY MADMAN WHO USED IT TO CREATE A MONSTER!?" Chaula yelled, roaring and snarling in her wolf form. Her pointed face glared at the group as she bared her fangs, her eyes the color of amber. In the background, you could see Bass and Protias cowering to the far wall and staring wide-eyed at their werewolf friend. Raika gulped and looked sternly at the screen, hiding his fear at his companion's anger very well.

"Take it easy Chaula, you're letting the wolf talk. Put it back in the cage and we'll talk, I'm fairly certain there isn't a full moon tonight." He told her. Chaula's face slackened and she swallowed a few times, getting control of her temper. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them they had returned to their deep, sapphire blue. Bass and Protias heaved a sigh of relief and slowly relaxed from their fearful position and walked back over to Chaula. Grabbing the bridge of her nose, Chaula walked off screen and Bass shakily took center screen.

"I have fought giant dogs, bad-ass aliens, the master of the undernet, and Megaman on steroids. I have been mortally afraid only once. That was just now, seeing Chaula in full-fledged werewolf mode. I can see where all those legends about them came from." Bass stated, ruffling his feathers. Raika chuckled and nodded.

"She doesn't get like that often. Normally, it's in _my_ defense when she does." He said. Chaula came back and gently nudged the griffin away, glowering at everyone in her human form and concentrating her gaze on Raika.

"So what do we do?" She asked. Raika breathed deeply and looked lovingly at her.

"We become hunters. How do hunters deal with weresnakes?" He said, everyone looked confusingly at him while Chaula grinned.

"Of course! I see it now, I'll be there momentarily." She told them. Raika piped up.

"No way! I don't want you fighting this thing. I'll be fine on my own. If you really want to help, see if Protias and Bass can track which way the thief who took our program went." Raika said. Chaula pouted and sighed, defeated.

"Fine. But at least take Bass. I've already sent him to you. See you when you come home Rai-Rai." She said and the screen went black. Raika's PET beeped and he saw Bass standing by Searchman. Sighing, Raika looked at his confused friends and smirked.

"We may have a way to fight back." He explained. Dr. Hikari twitched in surprise and looked at him.

"How?"

"Well, Vipress is substantial thanks to Chaula's 'Call of the Wild' program. Which means she may have weresnake tendencies." He said. Chaud's face grew stern and he glared at Raika.

"Meaning we stick her with gold and it'll hurt her?" He said dangerously. Raika shook his head.

"No. When we were designing the program we installed a fail-safe system to prevent that. Our navis are cyber-animals, not lycans. If you were to stab Chaula with a silver blade, it would damage her greatly, but if you were to take that same knife to Protias in her wolf form, it would be no different from a regular knife. However, there are other characteristics Vipress shares with weresnakes we could take advantage of. We know two thirds of her makeup, the only thing missing is the third program that made her, and only your dad can tell us that. But I think we can work around that." Raika told them.

As he talked, Chaud had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and even felt sorry for Vipress as they sat here and planned her death. He didn't know why, but he grew angry with them for wanting to hurt her. He got up and left the room to calm down while everyone else continued to talk, and no one seemed to notice. No one except Protoman that is, who promptly followed him.

TBC

* * *

Well, that was an interesting chapter. Sorry it took me so long. I have this aggravating project going on at school and one of the guys who is supposed to help me on it is useless. Wish me luck on it guys! I`ll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. See ya.

Kitty


	5. A Vanishing of Scales

Hey all, I`m real sorry I haven`t updated. I`ve been real busy with stuffs… ^^; So, uh how about I just skip all the chit-chat and get right to the recap? Last chapter, we found out our old friend the Professor has come to pay us a visit, and he brought his pet snake Vipress with him. Using her power, he is trying to force Chaud and Lan's dad to work for him, but Raika might have a plan to stop them in their tracks. What's going to happen? Why is Chaud so uneasy about this whole thing? What is the third part of Vipress' programming? TO DA NEXT CHAPTA! (yes, I am hyper, I do not know why o.O…)

* * *

It was dark outside, except for the light coming from the building behind Chaud. Staring up at the moon, Chaud thought about many things, his cousin and her mother, his father, and various others. He stood alone, motionless, until a large object approached him. Turning his head, he sighed.

"Don't ask, I don't know. I just feel so…uncomfortable about this whole thing. There's something about Vipress that, that disturbs me, but I can't figure out what." He said as the cheetah came out of the shadows. Chaud kneeled down as Protoman came up to him and he gently stroked the soft head. Protoman cleared his throat and stared up at Chaud.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you Chaud. All I know is that this thing is threatening my home, and she is being controlled by a madman. I'm going to stop her. Are you going to help me?" He asked. Chaud looked into the large, dark eyes and neither of them said anything. Breathing out a shuddering breath, Chaud smiled and nodded at him.

"Of course. I'll meet you inside," Chaud said to the retreating cheetah. Before he was completely inside, Chaud took a deep breath. "Protoman." He said. The cheetah looked back at Chaud, who smiled tenderly at him, "Thank you. I needed that." Protoman said nothing but he smiled as he went back inside SciLab to rejoin their friends. Chaud closed his eyes and leaned back, feeling somewhat pleased. He paid little attention to his surroundings, a negligence he normally does not commit.

Had he been paying attention, he might have heard the sounds of scales against pavement, or seen the large shape rearing up behind him. As it was, he had no idea he wasn't alone until he looked up into the bright blue eyes of Vipress. Before he could make a sound, Vipress entangled him in her coils and opened her mouth. His sight fading, Chaud knew he was suffocating, and he knew it was futile to try anything. Nonetheless, his body tried to fight back, slowly melting into a snake's body. Vipress' eyes seemed to widen, and before his vision faded completely, he thought he saw regret in them, and then everything went black.

Thinking he had already gone home, everyone left Scilab for the night, and a worried Protoman headed home, Chaud's PET attached to his collar. He knew something was wrong because Chaud had left without taking his PET with him, and Protoman knew he would never do such a thing voluntarily. At the same time, Lan and Megaman reassured him that if anything bad had happened to him, they would have noticed, and he was inclined to believe him. He was thinking about this mental turmoil when he found himself at the mansion. Sighing, Protoman told himself that Chaud was indeed inside, safe and sound. He gracefully walked up to the door and opened it, heading inside. Not surorisingly, everything was quiet and dark. Like a thief in the night, Protoman silently made his way up to Chaud's room and closed the bedroom door after entering. He stretched, exhausted, and sniffed the sheets of Chaud's bed. He figured Chaud was just using the bathroom, and proceeded to go lie in his own bed by Chaud's desk, waiting for his operator to come back.

Even though he was dead tired, the poor Cheetah was up all night waiting for his best friend to come sleep. When he didn't return, Protoman started pacing around, occasionally prowling the house in search for him. Sitting on Chaud's bed, Protoman looked at the clock for about the 10th time that day and saw it was 7:30 A.M. Whining, Protoman jumped off the bed and ran out the window, making his way to SciLab to get help.

TBC

* * *

Bahaha! Cliffhanger! So, what do you think is going on? Is Chaud dead? Did Vipress eat him? Why is he so uncomfortable about the concept of hurting her? Only one way to find out, I'll get the next chapter in sooner, I promise.

Kitty


	6. Interrogation

LoL, well, now that I am over my initial shock from my partners review, time for me to continue. Let's see, in last chapter, Vipress snuck up on Chaud and whisked him away. Protoman waited all night for him to return, but left for SciLab to get help when he didn't. Is Chaud alive? What did Vipress do to him? Why does she want him anyway?

* * *

Pacing around the room, Protoman made his impatience clear. Famous could only sit and watch the worried cat as they waited for the netsaviors. One by one, everyone entered the room for this emergency meeting. When everyone was in, Protoman growled low in his throat and looked at them.

"Chaud is gone. He never came home last night. Something's happened to him and I don't like it. Anybody got any ideas as to where he is?" He asked in a somewhat annoyed tone. Everyone thought hard and Lan was the first to speak.

"Maybe Vipress kidnapped him so that we HAVE to do what the Professor wants." He said. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, making him squirm slightly under their intense gaze.

"What?" He asked when he felt he couldn't take it anymore.

"That was the single most intelligent thing you've ever suggested." Raika pointed out. Lan made an undignified noise and turned back to the group. Everyone started contemplating Lan's idea and wondered how it might have happened that a large and dangerous weresnake was able to be captured without a sound.

_Meanwhile_

It was dark. And cold. Shaking violently in an attempt to get warm, Chaud finally opened his eyes to nothingness. He looked around, or at least, he thought he did, to try and determine his location. When he came to the conclusion he would not learn anything with his human eye, Chaud quickly closed them and turned to the snake within him for guidance. Immediately, the darkness cleared and he saw various reds and blues and yellows, and all the colors in between, with the vision of a pit-viper.

It's not to say Chaud could see objects, no, far from it. He could see the heat and cold signatures of everything around him. Certain snakes called Pit Vipers have these heat-seeking pits by their nostrils, or, for weresnakes, below their eyes. While his cousins in the wild can only see heat, weresnakes like Chaud are able to see cold objects as well. Using this ability, weresnakes are able to find their way around in dark places.

Looking around him with his pit-viper vision, Chaud was virtually motionless, with the exception of his turning head. His snake tongue darted in and out as he tried to find the scent of anyone nearby, his acute ears attuned to pick up any sounds (another gift that weresnakes were given that their natural, wild cousins do not have) of anyone who might be approaching. Suddenly, he picked up a sound, the sound of scales on tiles, and with his snake-vision he saw a large body approach him. He seized up and opened his mouth, his tongue barely covering his open throat, and released a hollow exhale that can only come from and angry or scared gaboon viper. His fangs suddenly grew and his eyes slitted slightly. His body grew and lengthened, and he turned white all over, his body becoming covered in black stripes.

Soon he had reached full form, and he coiled up and prepared to strike, still hissing. Suddenly, the lights came on, and Chaud hissed louder and longer when he saw his opponent.

'_I underestimated her, badly. I could be in trouble, even a Gaboon Viper is no match for the Black Mamba._' Chaud thought as he looked at Vipress, who was easily twice his size. He looked around cautiously, looking for a potential escape. The female snake in front of him calmly stayed where she was, allowing him to look around. The room was white, with a few counters and boxes that strangely enough looked like storage units. In the back corner of the room was a thin cot with a raggedy blanket and a very flat pillow on it, and a very large comforter curled next to it. The only way out was through a circular opening in the wall behind Vipress and Chaud cursed under his breath, seeing he was not going to get away easily. Vipress smirked and laid down, stretching her body against the wall, curling around the room.

"You will be free to go dear, just after you answer a few questions." She said. Chaud hissed loudly one last time and glared at her.

"Where have you taken me? Why am I here? What does the Professor want with me?" He asked her coldly. Amused, Vipress yawned at him.

"Well, I guess fair is fair. Very well, I will answer your questions, but in turn, you must answer mine, agreed?" She said. Chaud turned his nose up at her slightly.

"It depends on what YOUR questions are." He retorted. Vipress grinned at him.

"What a smart one you are. Very well, in order, you are in my enclosure where I fulfill my basic needs to eat and sleep. You are here because I am curious about you. There is something, something about you that makes me act strange, and my master has no idea you are even here, so if I were you, I would regain human form so that if he stops in unexpectedly, I can hide you." She explained. Chaud gave her a shocked look and thought about her request and, deciding she already knew his secret anyway, he slowly regained human form, keeping his eyes slitted and his tongue forked. With her tail, Vipress gestured to the cot and Chaud obediently sat down on it, never taking his eyes off the giant snake. She shifted her body over so she could be closer to him and see him better, and took a deep breath.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Chaud asked her when he felt she was comfortable. Vipress smirked and poked her tongue out slightly, as if tasting the air.

"Who are you? What are you? You are not human, but you are not a snake?" She said. Chaud gulped quietly and kept his eyes focused on her.

"My name is Chaud Blaze, and I am a weresnake, which is a type of Lycanthrope." He said. Vipress tilted her head.

"Lycanthrope? What is Lycanthrope?" She asked.

"A Lycanthrope is a person who has the disease Lycanthropy, which turns anyone who has it into an animal. The most common form of Lycanthropy is the wolf form, but there are other forms as well, like snakes." He explained. She shifted her coils and blocked any view of the exit.

"I see. You are a Lycanthrope. I am a Lycanthrope as well?" She asked. Chaud shook his head.

"No, you are a net-navi who was brought to life using a special program my cousin developed. The program is based on Lycanthropy, but it isn't the real thing." He told her. Vipress nodded.

"I see. Where did you come from? Where is your creator?" She asked him. Chaud raised a brow and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I was born in Japan and I wasn't really created by any one person. My father is somewhere on the other side of the world and my mother… my mother is d-dead." He said, turning away from her in an attempt to escape the memory. Vipress tilted her head again.

"What are "father" and "mother" and what is "dead"?" She asked. Chaud gulped and answered quietly.

"A mother is a woman who gives birth to a child, and a father is the man who helped the mother conceive her child. When someone is dead, it means… they aren't alive. It's like a sleep they never wake up from. Anything can make death happen. Disease, old age, accidents, to name a few." He said.

"What caused your mother's death?" She asked.

"My mother was murdered. Someone else killed her by poisoning her." She said, shaking slightly.

"Why?" She asked worriedly.

"Because she was a weresnake. Humans are afraid of Lycanthropes, and some humans have made it their life's work to kill them, and they become hunters. My mother never did anything to anyone, but she still deserved to die just because she was different." He said, turning away from her. He never meant to give Vipress this much information about himself, information so painful, forgotten long ago. The tears came slowly at first, and it was everything Chaud could do not to sob. The memories flooded his mind and it made him hurt inside. Suddenly, he felt something wrap around him and Chaud gasped and opened his eyes, looking upward into the sympathetic eyes of the serpent.

"Death is not something that is earned lightly. A difference in one's makeup is no reason to end a life. The person who killed your mother was the one who was wrong, not she. I am sorry to have troubled you with my inquiries; I truly did not mean to disturb you. Perhaps you will want sleep before you leave. I will help you escape when you are rested." She said, gently laying him on the cot. She gingerly grabbed the blanket with her lips and draped it over Chaud before settling into the comforter next to the cot, curling up tightly and resting her head in front of him. Chaud had nothing to say and he laid his head back, drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

_Back at SciLab_

"So then it's settled, we'll tell him we'll do as he says, and then while everyone is distracting him, Lan, Protoman and Megaman will sneak in and find Chaud, and then we'll counter-attack." Raika told them. Everyone nodded just as Chaud's father entered the room.

"Fine. We'll play it your way, but mark my words, this lunatic will pay!" He growled. Raika glared at him for the horrible misuse of the word describing Lycans controlled by the moon, but said nothing as he watched Dr. Hikari get ready to call the Professor.

TBC

* * *

I like this chapter. I really do. Vipress' character development is coming along nicely, and I think this story is starting to lead into it's sequel rather smoothly. What do you think of this chapter?

R&R

Catilena1890


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